From the press release..Some of the world's foremost experts on the role of media in preventing mass atrocities will bring their latest insights to the upcoming conference, The Promise of Media in Halting Mass Atrocities: A Conference to Mark the 10th Anniversary of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). Concordia University's Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS) is organizing the conference, which takes place October 20 and 21 at the Mount Stephen Club (1440 Drummond St.). "We're at the point now where there are so many Tweets, Facebook messages, and SMS texts that trying to read them in a crisis is like trying to drink water from a fire hose," says MIGS Director Frank Chalk. The conference will explore breakthrough techniques for translating, managing and making actionable sense of this flood of information and new tools for prevention. The conference features 16 speakers and four panel discussions:.The Responsibility to Report: Can the Media Make a Difference?.From Streets to Tweets: Harnessing the Power of Social Media and Technology.The Link Between the News Media and Governmental Leadership.R2P in 2011: Libya, Syria and Sudan..R2P is a Canadian-sponsored initiative that seeks to protect civilians from genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, serious war crimes and other mass atrocities. If a state is unwilling or incapable of protecting its citizens, and refuses international assistance, R2P requires the international community to act swiftly to prevent or mitigate such crimes. Kyle Matthews, lead researcher at MIGS, says R2P in 2011 is about how to report on crises. "But it's also about how new electronic tools are being deployed in the fight against mass atrocities and genocide," he says. "For example, using media to harness early warning signs and mitigate conflict so we can prevent rather than react. "There's a very important link between the news media and government leadership: the media must cover t